Givenchy

ENTERING his third season at <a href="Givenchy" class="maintextimageu" onclick="window.open('/vogue_daily/popup.asp?keyword=Givenchy','search', 'toolbar=0,status=no,menuBar=0,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=250,height=450,left=10,top=100')">Givenchy there’s always an air of expectation to Ricardo Tisci’s reinvention of the house, with one question hanging in the air like a white elephant: will this be the season that Tisci silences his critics and establishes himself as the true heir apparent? The designer hasn’t faced an easy task. Unlike, for example, Nicolas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga, Tisci doesn’t have the volume of archival gold that many French houses do, which designers, taking up their mantle, can use to establish a framework. Think of Givenchy and you think of Audrey Hepburn. Well, this collection had one thing in common with her: a love affair with black.

The tone was dark and sombre for a summer collection.With the maudlin note set by atmospheric music and glowering models, Tisci sent out a strict silhouette of black jacket with cut-out semi-circles and fan burst skirt. Severe, it was soon tempered by an African-inspired section that followed the ethnic flavour of his summer couture collection. Tisci took the black dress template and moulded in his own complex image, adding elaborate lace panelling, cut-away details and heavy fringing, a message that stood out in a season dominated by light and airy confections. (5 October 2006, AM)